Health and health care in the Third World - D.R. Phillips

This book grew from the authors teaching and research interests in health and health care. These have been particularly concerned with spatial aspects of health and development and the availability and use of health services. The author has researched health and health-service related issues in many developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean over the past decade or more, and has been able to relate such research - academic and applied - to his teaching responsibilities.;In terms of health and health care in the so-called "Third World" there are numerous books and articles covering specific aspects of disease, disease ecology, epidemiology, traditional and modern health services, fertility, demographic change and the like. However the author felt that there is a lack of any text that considers many of these topics together, and that tries to point out some of their interrelations and their associations with modernization, socio-economic and political change.;In this book the author has attempted a synthesis of writings and research from numerous academic disciplines; and from bodies such as the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children's Fund and the World Bank.;The complex question of health and how (or if) it relates to development is increasingly being recognized as crucial, especially in the poorer countries of the Third World. There is, of course, a continuing debate as to how far "health" can be measured and quantified, and also whether the term "development" has any definable meaning.;The nature of health care has also been discussed at length: whether it means purely medical care, or includes support services for health, or whether it should be broadened to include many other services such as housing, education and community care. Evidence is growing to suggest that direct medical interventions can only achieve a limited and probably often impermanent improvement in people's health. Their more general well-being has to be addressed; and to sustain and enhance health requires social, economic, environmental and political improvements.;The diversity of experience between Third World countries and the massive diversities within specific countries are almost sufficient to dispel any notions that the "Third World" is a realistic categorization, especially in health or health care. This is discussed in some detail in chapters 1 and 2, and subsequent chapters illustrate the great range in types of health services (public, private, traditional) and in their availability, accessibility and utilization.;The author has tried to emphasize that stereotypical "Third World" problems do not have uniform existence. For example, some countries (many in Africa) are still struggling to contain high fertility and battling with infectious disease. Other countries, principally in East and South-east Asia and Latin America, are starting to face the problem of providing for ageing populations whilst sometimes concomitantly dealing with infectious diseases and the needs of young populations.;Some countries have relatively well-to-do, stable economies, some are bankrupt and others are sadly engaged in prolonged and very damaging internal or external conflicts. The potential for, and reality of, health improvements and health care provision varies enormously among them.